Bronxville Library Director Sues over Salary Dispute with Library Board and Mayor
Jan. 11, 2012: The hushed precincts of the Bronxville Public Library are being disturbed by a dispute between the library director, Laura Eckley, and the library's board of trustees. A pay raise of nearly $18,500 was given to her in October of 2011 but rescinded by the library board the following month at the request of Mayor Mary Marvin.
A lawsuit filed by Laura Eckley charges that the trustees cancelled a raise at the request of Mayor Marvin. The raise brought her salary to $100,000 from her probationary salary of $81,640.
The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court in White Plains by Ardsley attorney Anthony Pirrotti, seeks restoration of Eckley's initial raise plus other funds deemed "just, suitable and proper"; it also seeks a restraining order prohibiting Bronxville Village officials from "interfering" with library financial decisions.
Eckley has since been granted a $3,500 a year raise and a $7,400 bonus.
The vote to rescind Eckley's $18,500 salary, however, was not a unanimous one. Former library board president Sean Abbott was alone among the eight library trustees to vote against cancelling the original raise. He said the salary increase was "consistent with the overwhelmingly positive performance evaluations" unanimously voted upon by the library board in the last two years.
In addition, Abbott has charged that some of his fellow trustees have held meetings on the matter without public notice, in violation of the state's Open Meetings Law. "In action consistent with a pattern of interference in library matters by village hall," Abbott further declares that Village Administrator Harold Porr revealed the salary cancellation to "a shocked library staff during a union negotiation meeting."
Village officials have refrained from commenting on the case on the advice of Village Counsel James Staudt. An official reply is expected by the end of the month. Fern Watters, the former president of the Friends of the Bronxville Public Library, a volunteer support group for the library, said her group was not involved in the library board's salary decisions. She hoped that "this situation can be resolved quickly and in the best interests of the library."
The next meeting of the library board is scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, January 11.
Pictured here: The façade of the Bronxville Public Library.
Photo by A. Warner
Government & History Directory
Bronxville is a quaint village (one square mile) located just 16 miles north of midtown Manhattan (roughly 30 minutes on the train) and has a population of approximately 6,500. It is known as a premier community with an excellent public school (K-12) and easy access to Manhattan. Bronxville offers many amenities including an attractive business district, a hospital (Lawrence Hospital), public paddle and tennis courts, fine dining at local restaurants, two private country clubs and a community library.
While the earliest settlers of Bronxville date back to the first half of the 18th century, the history of the modern suburb of Bronxville began in 1890 when William Van Duzer Lawrence purchased a farm and commissioned the architect, William A. Bates, to design a planned community of houses for well-known artists and professionals that became a thriving art colony. This community, now called Lawrence Park, is listed on the National register of Historic Places and many of the homes still have artists’ studios. A neighborhood association within Lawrence Park called “The Hilltop Association” keeps this heritage alive with art shows and other events for neighbors.
Bronxville offers many charming neighborhoods as well as a variety of living options for residents including single family homes, town houses, cooperatives and condominiums. One of the chief benefits of living in “the village” is that your children can attend the Bronxville School.
The Bronxville postal zone (10708, known as “Bronxville PO”) includes the village of Bronxville as well as the Chester Heights section of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe and the Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa and Longvale sections of Yonkers. Many of these areas have their own distinct character. For instance, the Armour Villa section has many historic homes and even has its own newsletter called “The Villa Voice” which reports on neighborhood news.
Link to Village of Bronxville One Square Mile Monthly Newsletter
Village of Bronxville Administrative Offices
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